Makati to Quezon City in 20 Minutes? It's Very Possible.

In the midst of bad news and even worse news about traffic in the Metro, it looks like we may finally have something that won't cause more tears. The Skyway Stage 3 project will "substantially be completed"—enough for partial operations, at least—by the end of 2019, said the Department of Public Works and Highways. In a radio interview with Mike Enriquez, Senator Grace Poe said that the project will divert as many as 100,000 vehicles from EDSA every day.
In addition, to help ease traffic on the parking lot known locally as EDSA, the DPWH is planning to open up one lane on each side of the Skyway, which stretches from Makati City to Quezon City.
"By the end of this year, we expect the Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3—an 18.68-kilometer elevated expressway stretched over Metro Manila from Buendia, Makati City to Balintawak, Quezon City—to be completed," said the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Mark Villar in a statement posted on their Facebook page. The expressway is scheduled to be fully operational within the first quarter of 2020, he added.
Once completed, the Skyway Stage 3 will have eight access ramps:
- Buendia Avenue (South Super Highway, Makati City)
- President Quirino Avenue (Malate, Manila)
- Plaza Dilao (Paco, Manila)
- Nagtahan/Aurora Boulevard (Manila)
- E. Rodriguez Avenue (Quezon City)
- Quezon Avenue (Quezon City)
- Sgt. Rivera Street (Quezon City)
- North Luzon Expressway
Currently, the project is 75 percent complete, according to Villar. Road closures around the Metro are ongoing but once everything is settled with the expressway, traveling from Makati City to Quezon City (and vice versa) could take just 15 to 20 minutes. Here's hoping we don't have to wait any longer!
This story originally appeared on Spot.ph. Minor edits have been made by the Esquiremag.ph editors.